Big Leaguers Notebook: Aug. 9

Masterson loves to win, but knows baseball is just a game

 Justin Masterson may be the king of hard-luck losses and no-decisions, but at the end of the day his wife Meryl's cookies and his newborn daughter give the Jamaican-born pitcher plenty to smile about. "I'm just trying to do the best that I can," said the good-natured Masterson. "I like to win, that's definite, but at the end of the day, I want my teammates to appreciate me for the man I am and hopefully for the player I am, too. I go out and bust my tail and put forth the best effort. Sometimes that will mean a victory, sometimes it won't. You're relying on some of your positive attitude and understand that I'm a strong man of faith and believe in God. That definitely has a big part in it -- knowing that it's just the game of baseball." (The Plain Dealer)

 Canadian Brett Lawrie is "#comininhot" (Twitter) as he makes his Jays debut and brings baseball fever back to Toronto (USA Today). Looks like his teammates approve... (MLB.com)

 Michael Bourn and Carl Crawford took swings in the batting cage as Little League teammates in Houston. Nearly 20 years later, the two friends have five All-Star appearances and three Gold Glove awards between them as they live the dream in the Major Leagues. (SI.com)

 Don't mess with master prankster Ryan Dempster, or you might find your cleats in the freezer and the wheels to your pickup truck scattered around the ballpark. (The Wall Street Journal)

 Go behind the camera lens as David Ortiz gets a fresh look (Twitter), David Price shares his newest piece of art (Twitter), AX(E) man John Axford demonstrates the "double pits to chesty" (Twitter) and Logan Morrison shows off his battle wounds with a picture that's not for the faint of heart (Twitter).

 Check out Dustin Pedroia on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated (Boston Globe). After avoiding this slide from Eduardo Nunez, dodging the SI cover jinx should be a piece of cake for Pedey!

 Congratulations to Michael Young, who collected the 2,000th hit of his career (MLB.com). "It's special, it really is special," said Young, who accomplished the feat faster than all but 10 players. "It means something. I understand that I got there quick, and I'm happy about that, but I still look at the big picture. The reason why I got here is I come to the ballpark every day prepared to play and do everything I can to help my team win ... 2,001 is my next goal." (MLB.com). Jason Bay also reached a milestone, becoming just the third Canadian player to hit 200 home runs. (MLB.com)

Quote of the Day: "[My family and I] were always coming to Shea. My aunt would take me every year. We'd always pick out the best promotion and come." -- Mets rookie Mike Baxter, who grew up as a Mets fan in Queens and played in the 2002 high school city championship game at Shea Stadium. Baxter doubled (MLB.com) in his Mets debut in front of family and friends on Monday. (MLB.com)

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.